State report better than hoped for

OUR VIEW:

Key Points

€ Gaylord Community Schools was originally told by the state department of education it owed $261,000.

€ Although that figure has been cut in half, key figures still owe.

It may not be finalized yet, but should the preliminary analysis of grant use at Gaylord Community Schools (GCS) by the Michigan Dept. of Education stand up to final scrutiny and adjustments, GCS administrators should be congratulated for cutting in half the $261,000 owed to the state.

Administrators should also, as quickly as possible, seek to recover any of the remaining difference of approximately $140,000 from those who received it, including retired curriculum director Paul St. Germaine who all-told received $49,361.

On the bright side, negotiations with the state appear to have succeeded in identifying areas in which grant expenses could be written off, particularly reclassifying $50,000 in payments to substitute teachers as a local match portion of the All Students Achieve Program-Literacy Achievement Program grant. Skeptics, who last year debated the merit of entering into negotiations with the department of education, may need to reconsider their thinking. At the time, even those in favor of an open discussion didn't expect to achieve more than a $10,000 or $20,000 gain.

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On the other hand, the nagging issue remains that the money was misspent in the first place. Certainly the state addresses that with recommendations to institute tighter controls over the budget. It is also time, however, for the board of education to go beyond the letter sent and polite requests made to St. Germaine that he return the funds. The money was not used properly.

Using the board's past philosphy that spending a little money might buy the district a larger return, perhaps GCS should pursue matters in court.

It is time for this grant issue to be settled. But until every last penny is collected for a district in which every penny counts, even half a pill should be too bitter to swallow.